We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Drew Prez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Drew, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Like many, my first band was formed in high-school. In fact, I think we started the band specifically for the school talent show, but that was going to be it. We performed two songs by one of my favorite bands, Blink 182. The minute we started performing, I knew I wanted to keep doing it, and so we did. The following year, we returned to the school talent show but this time, with our own songs. The auditorium was filled to capacity that night & I’ll never forget the response we got. It was absolutely amazing. I remember being approached by a show promoter after our performance about playing a festival that following weekend. It was almost like a scene out of a movie or something! It just kept building from there. By the time college came around, we were booking our own tours & opening bigger shows. I eventually ended up leaving college to focus completely on music & making it an actual career.

Drew, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Drew Prez. I’m a musician, recording artist, and designer. I’ve had the creative bug my entire life. I think a lot of it stems from my youth, growing up in an only-child environment, having to entertain myself.
I got into music at a pretty young age. I remember sitting in the back seat of my parents car, listening to top 40 music on the radio and recognizing things like sonic variation, melody, harmonies, percussive patterns, & cadence; things that I would assume most 8 year olds aren’t thinking about when listening to music.

I signed my first recording contract after releasing a song called “Hollywood” back in 2013, which ended up catching the attention of an independent label in Chicago. My band signed a 3-year record deal & toured pretty relentlessly the first few years to get our name out there. Gearing up to record our first full length album, two of the members decided to call it quits. At the time, I unfortunately was battling a pretty bad drug addiction so I was in no shape to keep everything afloat by myself, so the band slowly dissipated. I’m proud to say that I’m now sober & have been for over 8 years, thankfully.

Today, in 2024, I’m incredibly proud to be launching a new clothing line called DYL Clothing, as well reviving my music career & recording a brand new record to be released at the end of the year. I’m documenting the entire creative process of writing new songs, recording a new record, & performing the songs for the first time on my new IG channel. Aside from getting a behind-the-scenes look at how music is written, produced, and recorded, followers will be able to participate in livestream writing sessions where they can give ideas for lyrics, song titles, and even voting on the name of my new project. To join the party, just follow @drewprezmusic on IG & TikTok.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

That’s a really great question. For me, I suppose the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is getting the opportunity to be heard. Artists have a lot in common but the two biggest things, I believe, are having an introverted personality & wanting to be heard. There’s some irony behind that if you really think about it. I think everyone goes through a stint when they feel misunderstood. So having an opportunity to speak your truth, no matter the medium, is an irreplaceable gift & opportunity. It’s definitely something I never want to take for granted.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

It would be remiss of me to not mention getting sober & staying sober. Through my experience, I’ve spent time or spoken to many addicts in recovery & they’re honestly some of the strongest, most resilient people I’ve ever met. I mean, if you’re going to get off & stay off, you have to be, right? There was a stint when I was in pretty bad shape, especially after my band split. That one really threw me for a loop. I truly didn’t know what I was going to do as writing & performing music was literally all I knew. It’s what I did for a living basically since high school, aside from part-time retail jobs I would pick up while home from tour. My journey to recovery hasn’t been easy but it’s been very rewarding. I failed several times at my attempt to get sober, but when I wanted it the most is when it stuck. I’m super proud & grateful to say that I recently celebrated my 8th year of sobriety from drugs & alcohol.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dylclothing.launchcart.store/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realdrewprez/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realdrewprez
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@drewprezmusic

Image Credits
Natasha Johnson Lorelei Rubik